Tag Archive for: wage

Public security agencies wage war against hackers

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[Photo/IC]

Chinese police have pledged to continue to intensify their efforts on cybersecurity, as hacking into computer systems has become a major engine for criminal activities.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday showed that cybercrime has risen over the past three years at an annual average rate of 27.7 percent.

Since the start of last year, police officers across the country have solved 2,430 criminal cases involving hackers, with the capture of more than 7,000 suspects.

Highlighting the need for improving cybersecurity, Shi You, an official from the ministry, said it has stepped up efforts targeting hacking.

“While directly infiltrating and sabotaging computer information systems, criminals have also been discovered to have provided technical support and material information for other illegal activities such as telecom fraud, online gambling and online pornography,” he said.

The secondary crimes caused by hacking not only disrupt social stability and bring economic losses for people, but they also disturb market order and harm state security, he added.

In one case, for example, Beijing police detained 16 suspects involved in the fraudulent purchase and resale of tickets to scenic tourist spots in August after receiving reports from the public complaining of difficulties in booking the tickets.

The suspects were found to have illegally used software to purchase the tickets and then resell them at a higher price, the ministry said, adding that the illicit gains of the gangs were more than 2.3 million yuan ($315,000).

The capital”s police also seized 25 mobile phones, 21 computers and 26 software programs used to illegally access the tickets when they arrested the suspects, it said.

In another case, police officers in Foshan, Guangdong province, uncovered a group of 31 people in February who had allegedly obtained profits by tampering with an app’s system data.

Shi, from the ministry, stressed the focus on technology, “as the methods used by hackers have diversified with the rapid development of technologies, including artificial intelligence and blockchain”.

He expressed his concern about the…

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UMass Memorial to Pay $1.2M to Settle Wage Claims After Ransomware Attack

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A ransomware attack took down the provider’s payroll system for weeks, and some employees allege they weren’t paid the full amount owed.

WORCESTER, Mass. — UMass Memorial Health, one of the largest health systems in Massachusetts, has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle wage claims after a ransomware attack took down the provider’s payroll system.

On Dec. 11, 2021, UKG, the parent company of workforce management platform Kronos, notified clients using its Kronos Private Cloud product of a ransomware incident that caused weekslong outages affecting timekeeping and payroll across several industries, reports HR Dive. For more than a month, the UMass Memorial relied on backup timekeeping methods for its more than 16,000 employees. It resumed using the Kronos platform on Jan. 27.

Sergio Melgar, executive vice president and chief financial officer of UMass Memorial, told HR Dive that the organization ran its first payroll during the outage based on hours-worked for the last pay period on record, making adjustments for new hires and departures. However, Melgar said vacation time, leave, and shift differentials posed issues. He said UMass Health chose the best option available “given the difficult situation we were in” and described healthcare payroll as “maybe the most complicated payroll that exists.”

“In a complex environment like ours, people could have shift differentials,” said Melgar. “You have overtime that kicks in at different points in time. You could have a bonus for shifts. You could have all the different variables that affect the pay that somebody gets. And if you don’t have the data, you cannot calculate it.”

On May 12, employees filed a class action lawsuit against UMass Memorial, Kronos, and UKG, alleging they weren’t paid the full amount due in a timely manner which is required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). UMass Memorial agreed to pay $1.2 million but has denied wrongdoing, claiming it paid employees correctly.

The plaintiff’s attorney said they plan to request $8,500 in incentive awards for each plaintiff, and up to $400,000 in attorneys’ fees. Individual workers are expected to receive an…

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City of Flagstaff battles state over minimum wage | Kingman Daily Miner

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PHOENIX – The outcome of a legal fight between Flagstaff and state lawmakers could affect the decision by residents of other cities whether they want to impose their own minimum wage.

Attorney Roopali Desai who represents the city wants a judge to void a provision in the new state budget assessing the city more than $1.1 million. That is supposed to represent the additional costs borne by the state between the current $12.15 an hour in Arizona law and the higher figure approved by Flagstaff voters in 2016, currently set at $15.

In new filings in Maricopa County Superior Court, Desai disputes the figure.

She noted the Flagstaff ordinance specifically exempts state employees. And Desai said some of the other claims of higher costs, like from Coconino Community College, really are not obligations of the state.

But the heart of her claim is that the provision itself is unconstitutional.

Desai pointed out that both the original 2006 statewide initiative that first established a state minimum wage and a 2016 revision that increased the numbers specifically allow local communities to establish their own wage laws. The only requirement is that the figure be at least as much as what the state requires.

She contends the law requiring the reimbursement runs afoul of the Voter Protection Act, a constitutional provision which bars the Legislature from repealing or altering anything approved at the ballot box.

The only exception is when a legislative act “furthers the purpose” of what voters approved, something Desai said this does not do. And even if it did, she said it would still require a three-fourths vote of both the House and Senate, which this measure did not get.

The state is fighting the measure, with an emergency hearing set for later this month before Judge James Smith.

Katie Conner, spokeswoman for Attorney General Mark Brnovich, said he is defending the law because it will “protect taxpayers from having to absorb the costs associated with a city or town’s decision to raise the minimum wage.”

Central to the fight is a provision that first appeared in the 2019-2020 budget. It allows the Legislature to allocate – and the state…

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Pakistan bots wage cyber warfare – India Today

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Pakistan bots wage cyber warfare  India Today

Security agencies swing into action as thousands of fake accounts from Pak flood social media with anti-India posts after the repeal of 370.

“cyber warfare news” – read more